Little brother for sale: cheap

I am a huge fan of Kijiji. I have used it to sell strollers, cribs, toys, clothes you name it. I've bought great, memorable gifts on the site as well (a great deal if you have a similar aversion to assembling doll houses or Playmobil play kits). For one, I despise clutter, I think it is better for the environment, and I'm cheap. My children have sold their unwanted toys to pay for new ones -- everyone is happy.

So a few Saturdays ago, my daughter comes to me with a completely serious look on her face, which is difficult for a child always in motion and who is missing most of her front teeth. "Mommy," she says, "I've given it a lot of thought and I'd really like to be an only child."

Now on most days I would have chastised her for such an outburst, but this day I was relaxed and the kids weren't being especially troublesome, so I indulged her.

"Really?" I said.

I think she was expecting the boom, and I think I caught her off guard, which is something I rarely do with a child who is always six or seven steps ahead of me at any given moment.

"Yes," she continued. " I've given it a lot of thought and I think we should sell [her brother] on Kijiji."

I smiled to myself, trying to stifle the laughter while looking into her earnest face.

"How much do you think you could get for him?" I ask, knowing full well such a transaction is not going to happen in my lifetime.

"Oh, about 1000 dollars, Mommy. Just think about what you could do with all that money?" She slurs the words together, trying her best to up-sell me on the notion.

"HEY!" My son interjects from the other room, clearly having heard the entire interaction. "Why don't you sell her?"

And then, just when I didn't think it could get any more hilarious and so sad, she said, flatly..."Ryan, you and I know they'd like you better."

At once my heart leapt and sank, hoping that my daughter didn't really feel that way, but being amazed at her own awareness of the situation. I cannot deny that my son is more like cashmere than her sometimes scratchy, abrasive wool personality, but warms my heart no less.

I am happy to report that neither of my children ended up on Kijiji that day, and I realized that sometimes taking the time to indulge a little girl's thought process, albeit sketchy, can be enlightening and humorus, even if she is plotting to sell her little brother to the highest bidder.